June Williams was only 4 when her father bought 7 acres of land to build a zoo without bars or cages. Growing up she remembers how creative her father was in trying to help wild animals feel free in confinement. Today Chester Zoo is one of England’s most popular wildlife attractions. Home to 11,000 animals on 110 acres of land, the zoo reflects her father’s concern for animal welfare, education, and conservation.

Solomon had a similar interest in all creatures great and small. In addition to studying the wildlife of the Middle East, he imported exotic animals like apes and monkeys from far-off lands (1 Kings 10:22). But one of his proverbs shows us that Solomon’s knowledge of nature went beyond intellectual curiosity. When he expressed the spiritual implications of how we treat our animals, he mirrored something of the heart of our Creator: “The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” (Prov. 12:10).

With God-given wisdom, Solomon saw that our relationship to our Creator affects not only how we treat people but also how much thoughtful consideration we give to the creatures in our care.

Father in heaven, when we think about the wonder and diversity of Your animal kingdom, please help us not only to worship You, but to care for what You’ve entrusted to us.

God is the real Owner of all of us.

INSIGHT:

There is a subtle but important difference between intelligence and wisdom. Both of them are desirable; both of them important; both require diligence and discipline to acquire and exercise. However, wisdom is often considered the appropriate application of intelligence. Knowing something is one thing; being able to act well on what you know is another. As Solomon shows, intelligence can be demonstrated by speech, but wisdom is demonstrated in both speech and action.

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Intelligence and wisdom should be accompanied with “common sense”, unfortunately, it’s not all too common. I’ve made my living being a blacksmith for many years and have noticed that many animal lovers value animals lives more than they do peoples lives. I got into working with animals because I loved and was infatuated with horses. However I never considered then human. I can’t count the number of times “Dobbin” mistreated me and the owners were oblivious to their bad behavior. Yes, Christian owners as well as secular owners….hmmm.
John

Intelligence means,”the ability to acquire and apply knowledge” and Wisdom “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise”.
Intelligence can be learned from an education and wisdom comes from God. Sdwise, gave a good example about the stovetop of having intelligence and wisdom.

Today’s scripture makes clear that people who mistreat animals are of the lowest order and should be held accountable. We are given the privilege of sharing the earth with God’s creatures; likewise, we have the responsibility to care for them.
In my experience and that of my husband who is a veterinarian, many animals are more loving, loyal, and intelligent than many people. We would do well to learn from them just as they learn from us.

“God is the real Owner of all of us”. That is so true and it’s true regardless of what anyone happens to believe or think about the statement. When one purchases a new car, it would be wise to read the “Owner’s Manual” to find out what to do to keep the car running well and last for a long time. God left us an “Owners Manual” and we would be wise to read it and order our lives accordingly, if we want to run well and last a really, really, really long time (like forever). Thank you for lovely devotional this morning, Mr. DeHaan!